Water-filter.



` .am H W m 0 m V l V w No. 733,885. PATENTED JULY 14,'1903. W. G. TOUSEY.

WATER FILTER.

PPLIoAnoN rILnn Dnc. 2s, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 BHEBTB-BHEET 2.

Fig

y UNITED STATES rammed July 14, 1903.

WILLIAM G. TOUSEY, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

WATER-FILTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 733,885, dated July 14, 1903.

Appii'cttion fiieanecember 23,1902. senato. 136,349. (No man.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. ToUsEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Somerville, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water- Filters, of which the following is a full,'cle`ar,

and exact description.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a central vertical section of the parts for containing and supporting the filtering apparatus proper, but without the latter. Fig.' 2 is a plan View, partly in section, of oneof the filter-tabletseparating disks. Fig.'3 is a central vertical section of the main portion of the filtering apparatus. Fig. 4 isa detail view of the water connections looking down upon the apparatus, and Fig. 5v is a transverse section of a part of the filter-tablet.

T-he reference-numeral 1 designates a thinwalled cylinder composing a part of the case which incloses the filtering apparatus, and 2 is the top thereof, preferably fixed thereto. The bottom plate 3 is formed with a vertical flange 4, Within which fits the lower edge of the cylinder 1, and is provided with supporting means consisting of a base l0 and a tubular post 13. The filter is adjusted to any desired height in order to fit it for standing either upon a table, shelf, or the Hoor by selecting a tubular post .of the proper length. The bottom plate, the post, and the base are rigidly secured together by a bolt 14 passing through the base and post and tapped into the bottom plate, as shown in Fig. 4, and the parts are `kept from turning one on another by the lugs 7 12 within the sockets 6 and 11, respectively, the post ends fitting within said sockets and being terminally notched to receive said lugs. Within the case, near the upper part thereof, is a yoke 26, rigidly joined to the bottom plate 3 by the bolts 28 and containing a clamping-screw 23 in its hub 25, such screw being operated by the arms or other hand-grasping means 24; Said'screw abuts against the hub 2l of the upper clamping member 20, between the undery surface 22 of which "and the upper surface of the bottom plate 3 are clamped the parts composing the filtering members proper. Such filtering members consist of the filter-tablets 40,

separated one from another by the disks 30, the latter being formed to force the Water to traverse the tablets from face to face thereof.

metrically opposite points in each disk are two 1 transverse holes 33 for the passage of the tubes 35 rising from the bottom plate 3 Aand communicating with the water inlet and outlet 51 and 51?. At frequent intervals in each tube 35 are openings designed to communi'- cate With the grooves 32a of said disks, said grooves being extended through the rims of the disks by suitable small holes, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. As shown in Fig. 2, there are nine radial grooves, such odd number being used in order to have but one groove, as 32a, come in line with a hole 33. faces of a disk are similarly grooved, the radial groove 32a of the under face is arranged to come in line with thetube 35a and to communicate therewith in the manner already described. The object of this is to afford an ingress for the water to the space immediately above each filter-tablet and a corresponding egress from the space below the same.

VThe filter-tablets 40 are of substantially While both equal diameter to the disks 30 and are apertablet, and so on up until the desired height is reached and a disk contacts with the clamping member 20. The screw 23 is then turned and sufficient pressure applied to the clamping member to render the rims of the disks 30 water-tight in theircontact with the filtertablets 40. As shown in Fig. 3, the openings 36 in the tubes 35 35a are located to come in line with the holes leading through the disk-rims to the radial grooves 32a; but said openings may be made much more frequent, enough so to constitute practically a continuous slot and to thereby renderit immaterial how many I They are composed of fibrous material tablets are inserted between any pair of disks or how much compression is given to the tab-v` lets by the clamping members. The unfiltered water being admitted through the inlet 5l, it rises in the tube 35 and passes through the openings 36 to the spaces above the filter-tablets 40. Thenceit percclates down through the said tablets and is thereby filtered and passes out through the openings 3drL to the tube 35, and thence down to the exit 5l,

As a means for cleansing the filter I provide the supply-pipe 53 with two branches 50, one of which connects with the inlet 5l and the other with the outlet 51, a three-way valve 54e being introduced at the juncture of said supply-pipe aud branches. The inlet 51 and outlet 51n are each provided with a similar three-way valve, such valves and branches permitting me to reverse the current through the lter for a moment or two, and thereby lift off from the filter-tablets their accumulations of sediment and discharge the same at 5l. After a brief space the valves are turned to their normal positions and the filtering operation continued.

In my Patent No. 634,512 I set forth a filtertablet which, with some modifications and improvements, I prefer to use in my present apparatus. Said tablet is preferably of fibrous material impregnated with aluminium hydroxid or similar salt. For my pres ent apparatus, however, I have improved such tablet to the extent of making it a combination of two single tablets cemented together at their edges and having their inner surfaces enameled or impregnated with aluminium hydroxid or other filtering material 4:1, as shown in Fig. 5. By this arrangement several important results are attained. For example, rst, the enameled or coated surfaces are protected from injury during handling; second, a fibrous untreated surface of the tablet is always presented to the unfiltered Water to act as a relatively coarse lter medium, protecting the more refined filtering ma: terial within from too-speedy clogging and, moreover, economizing its special virtues; third, this combination of two tablets permits when occasion calls for it of the inclusion of more special filtering materials-as, for example, finely-powdered charcoal 42, Fig. 5, or substances capable of some specific chemical eect that may be sought; fourth, this double tablet prevents the aluminium hydroxid or whatever other filtering material may be included between the two parts thereof from being carried` away bodily by the current, whichever direction is given thereto; tth, finally this combination provides a very effeetive filter medium which can be replaced with ease and at a trifling cost, a feature which I regard as of the highest importance in practical filtration. I further improve this combination-tablet by treating its peripheral edges with an :insoluble coating, as varnish, (indicated in Fig. 5 by the slightly-curved 'rasees lines 45.) This gives firmness to the rim of the tablet, makes it easy to separate the tablets one from another after they have done service in the press, and prevents the water from percolating radially from within the tablet.

The fiange 4 and the lieveling of its inner edge are for the purpose of receiving whatever moisture may condense ou the exterior ofthe cylinder l and conducting it to the wastefchannel 5 in the bottom plate 3 and from thence to the drip-pipe 5, thereby preventing any sloppiness about the filter.

iVhile I often employa single combinationtablet between each pair of disks, I usually increase the number, as shown beneath the topmost disk in Fig. 3 and above the second disk from the bottom. The more numerous the number of tablets between each pair of disks the more refined is the filtrate produced.

The capacity of this filter can easily be changed to meet varying requirements by increasing or diminishing the number of filter members in the press. For instance, the capacity can be reduced by using at the bottom of the pile several disks without intervening filter-tablets, every alternate one of such disks being reversed or turned through an arc of one hundred and eighty degrees, and thus presenting to the same tube 35 or 35n both openings to the same space included between each pair of disks, and so cutting 0H all fiow through such spaces from one tube to the other, thus shutting olf the passage of Water at such portion of the members and using but one or two tablets at the upper part, and thus reducing the capacity of the filter accordingly, or the capacity of the filter can be largely increased by substituting longer tubes 35 and bolts 28 and using a proportionally larger number of filter members. Such elongated tubes and bolts, together with additional filter members, I provide with the apparatus as put upon the market.

In addition to the function performed by the tubes 35 of directing the incoming water to the disks 30 they serve the purpose of enabling the disks and tablets to be easily and accurately piled, the upper ends of the tubes being rounded or pointed to more readily per mit of their entering the openings in the disks and tablets.

The projections 37 (shown in Figs. 2 and 3) serve simply as ears for the more easy removal of the disks.

VVhatI claim as myinvention,and for which I desire Letters Patent, is as follows, to wit:

l. In a filter, the combination of a group of superposed iiltertablets and separatingdisks, a bottom plate supporting the same and having the diametrically opposite Water inlets and outlets, clamping members located external to said disks and filter-tablets for pressing the same down upon said plate, and two tubes rising from said plate through diametrically opposite openings in said tablets ioo and disks,eaeh tube being perforated throughout its length along the line of its periphery nearest the centers of said disks and tablets; whereby such tubes serve both as guides for the accurate placing of the disks and tablets, and to prevent the loose tablet fibers from being carried by the water passing through the tablets from said inlet to said outlet into the iltrate, substantially as described.

2. In a filter, the combination with the disks and filter-tablets having transverse openings -near their peripheries,and the clamping mem- 3. In a filter, the combination of the clamping members the lower one of which has Ithe water inlet and outlet, the tubes rising from the lower clamping member and communicating with the said inlet and outlet and each having aline of perforations, and the disks and filter-tablets' clam ped between said clamping members and having openings penetrated by said tubes; each of said disks having on each face a series of annular grooves and a number of radial grooves, the radial grooves of one face communicating with one of said tubes and the radial grooves of the other face communicating with the other of said tubes, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing invention I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of December, 1902. l

WILLIAM e. ToUsnY.

Witnesses:v

GEORGE A. MOORE, A. B. UPHAM. 

